


Taking Care

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2021 [19]
Category: The Three Investigators | Die drei ??? - Various Authors, The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Caretaking, Established Relationship, F/M, Illnesses, Prompt Fill, Showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29805333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for Self Care prompt:Any, any, taking a long, hot showerIn which Trixie helps Jupiter as he recovers from being sick.
Relationships: Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones | Justus Jonas
Series: Bite Sized Fic 2021 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108508
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2021, Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

> Also written for hurt/comfort bingo: washing/bathing someone

_The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else._ (Carson McCullers)

Trixie was relieved when Jupiter’s fever finally broke. 

He was normally a healthy guy. He ate right, tried to get in a little exercise every day, and took daily vitamins. He was a lot better at saying no to junk food than Trixie was, maybe because he still carried around the stigma of being Baby Fatso when he was just a little kid. (Trixie thought he’d been adorable back then, but agreed that the name was insensitive.) So when he got sick, it was unexpected and little scary.

“Lean on me. There you go.”

Trixie helped Jupiter shuffle from the bedroom to the bathroom, where she already had the shower going at just the right temperature.

“I can do it,” Jupiter protested.

“You’re a limp noodle, Jupe. Just let me help you.”

Jupiter grumbled but let Trixie strip him out of his pajamas, which were pretty gross from all the sweat that had poured off him. She put them right in the laundry hamper. She’d be doing laundry later, because the bedding was in a similar state; Trixie had been sleeping on a cot at the foot of the bed.

Trixie had never appreciated having a walk-in shower more than she did at that moment. She stripped off her own clothes and got in with Jupiter, making sure he got right under the shower head.

“Oh, man,” Jupiter sighed. “That feels good.”

“I’ll bet it does.”

Trixie pulled Jupiter’s soap out of the caddy and started working it over his back, generating a nice lather to wash away the lingering traces of illness from his skin. Jupiter braced himself against the shower wall, the slightest tremor in his arms and legs. It was the longest he’d been upright since he got pneumonia.

“I feel better already,” Jupiter said. 

Trixie was glad to hear it. She’d been more than happy to help Jupiter while he was sick. He was the rock she’d built her new life on. Jupiter was dependable, resourceful, and so, so smart, and him calling out for his long-deceased mother in the throws of a high fever had rattled her more than she’d like to admit.

“Okay, I need the other side.”

Jupiter turned and leaned back against the tiled wall, eyes closed. Trixie washed his chest and arms, his legs and genitals, even his feet. Once that was done, she had him bend down so she could wash his hair.

There was something oddly soothing about taking care of Jupiter. It was different than working a case together, different than cuddling together on the couch watching an old movie or having sex. More intimate, somehow. There was probably a long, fancy-sounding word for it, but Jupiter’s vocabulary had been sapped along with his strength.

Once Jupiter had been fully washed, he pulled Trixie into a hug and they stood there under the hot water, just holding on to each other. Trixie closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of Jupiter’s water-slick skin against hers. They’d never been the kind of couple who showered together, but maybe that needed rethinking. Not until Jupiter was fully recovered, of course.

When Jupiter started getting the trembles again, Trixie turned the shower off. 

“I can dry myself,” Jupiter assured Trixie.

“Let me know if you feel dizzy.”

They crowded together on the bathmat, both trying not to knock the other over, and Trixie couldn’t help laughing.

“This is ridiculous!”

“This is why we don’t shower together,” Jupiter pointed out. But he was smiling, too, and Trixie couldn’t help giving him a kiss.

While Jupiter got dressed, Trixie quickly remade the bed. It was only mid-afternoon, but she decided to crawl in with him. She’d missed sleeping next to Jupiter, and now that the threat of fever sweat was over, she was glad to put the cot back in the closet.

“This is nice,” Jupiter said as they snuggled up under the blankets. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Trixie said. “But don’t ever get that sick again, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jupiter kissed the back of her head and they fell asleep together, and it was the best Trixie had felt in over a week.


End file.
